Personal Finance Blog- India V 2.0

Disclosure:-Free copy of Anand Neelakantan's "The Rise of Sivagami" was received from Westland publishers for review.

The book seems to start from a early era ( not depicted in both the parts of Bahubali movie) and deals with the story of Sivagami - A girl who is orphaned because of the kingdom who goes all her way to avenge for her father's death.

The book deals from the phase where the girl moves from the village, deals with the adversities in her journey and moves on till she gets into a platform towards her life's mission.This story seems to set the foundation for Part 2 and more in the series ( in a way creating a needed suspense for the next books in the series).

Apart from the main story line of Sivagami, there are various sub plots that deal the Kingdom of Mahismathi- the king, prince, slaves, minister, pirate, merchant,rebels and other interesting characters. Whether the kingdom/ king is evil or good, who is right , who is wrong, are vaikalikas the real villains, whats the kingdom's biggest kept secret?... these questions/plots keep the readers hooked to the story and make this book a page turner. While some of the questions are either fully or partially answered, some of these remain unanswered and are kept open - to be dealt with in the next books of the series.

This is first book of Anand that I have read. I am quite impressed with Anand's story telling abilities. He introduces a lot of characters, portrays them perfectly, uses them well in the story and takes the sub-plots cohesively to one direction.

Overall, if you are a avid reader of historical fiction, this book should definitely impress you. (Even if you have not watched any of the Bahubali movies)

(Disclosure:- I received a complimentary copy of the book from blog adda for review. I am a big fan of the author. So, my comments will be positively biased to the works of the author)

There are a lot of self-help books. But, “Open
eyed meditations” by Shubha Vilas (author of the best-selling Ramayana – The game
of life series) book stands unique and tall in this genre. The author has very meticulously
and logically connected the stories of the past (from Ramayana and Mahabharata)
to answer the needs of our current life situations. This book is all about
reading about some life situations and thinking about them “open-eyed” and “open-minded”.

The author tries to address the needs/problems of
individuals as well as corporate/social groups (especially, when he talks about
topics like leadership) by taking us through some incidents from Indian epics.

The book is divided into 64 chapters. Each of
the chapter addresses at least one aspect or dimension of “how we live our life”
and the kind of rat race we are in I would recommend that this book should not be
read like a novel at one go. Browse through the index, check for the chapter
heading that you find is relevant for your situation and read through it. Take
time to chew and digest it (Better try to practice the learnings during the day).
Then you may move on to your next chapter. This way of reading through this
book can become a great experience. This book is not for just a onetime read,
but the book that you would want to keep referring back time ad again.The book
also brings to light that we often forget the very purpose of life and keep
running after some illusionary goal (The golden deer!).

My favorite chapters (top 10) from the book, they
are not necessarily in any particular order.

1.Why don’t I make the
right decisions in life

2.Spirituality @
workplace

3.Can your talent be
your enemy?

4.Has Ravana really
gone?

5.Are you angry
against anger?

6.How to deal with
provocations?

7.Leading without a
title

8.Do “likes” make my
life?

9.The science of how
to let go

10.Are you scared to be
“offline”?

My favorite paragraph
from the book –“In the bhagavata and Mahabharata,
krishna was a leader with no title. Being a cowherd was no title, nor was being
a driver. Krishna had no title either in Vrindavan, Mathura or Hasthinapura,
three places that He revolutionized with His leadership.In vrindavan, though
Nanda was the king, everyone was naturally drawn to Krishna for advice and help
during calamities. In Mathura, though He killed Kamsa, He allowed Ugrasena to
retain the title of king and remained his advisor. In Hastinapura, He took a
vow not to lift a weapon during the battle and act as a driver of Arjuna. That
vow indicated that Krishna preferred tittle-less leadership. He showed the
world that you don’t need weapons (facilities) and positions to lead.”

The author keeps the readers interest intact
through the book by keeping the chapters short, crisp and simple. “Open-eyed
meditations” is a book that can cater to readers of all ages. I will strongly
recommend this book for everyone to read.

Disclosure:- Complimentary copy of the book was received from the author for review

What happens when you mix tantric mysticism with concepts from quantum physics? What happens when you try to tie a mystery that is a few centuries old with latest technology of modern times? Can every mystery be scientifically explained.

" Agniputr" by Vadhan broadly dwells on these areas. The first few chapters of the fiction moves back and forth in time and also in geography.

The core focal point of the story comes to the fore when SRK is introduced. When you start thinking that SRK is the hero of the novel, there is a sudden twist. Now, we meet the real heroine of the book ( SRK's female boss). Initially the character comes across one that is too boring and uninteresting.

But when the heroine meets the real hero from Andhra (Royal "Surya"), the story switches to top gear. The secret behind the burial ground, the "sutram" becomes the core of action. The politician from Rajasthan also enters the scene.

Teams are split between the CSIR officer, Royal lineage vs the power hungry politician guided by the tantric. Both of the sides fight out their best. one tries to stop the "Sutram" from harming the world while the other wants to get "unlimited power" from it. The story also has an element of surprise after the action is over in Andra pradesh! Read the book to know more...

Vadhan vividly presents before the readers different flavours of India very diligently ( From Rajasthan to Haryana to Telengana/Andra). Along with the core mystery element, quantum physics, etc, Vadhan also brings in elements of law ( given his background) into the story line. Overall , this novel is definitely a page turner. You really cant wait for the next riddle to unlock,the novel keeps your interest going till the end.

Recently saw an article of Value research online about ," how one should use Tier- 2 account" of NPS as an alternate to mutual funds.

While NPS is definitely a low-cost product, there is lot of ambiguity over taxation rules at the time of withdrawal.

For those who are not aware, NPS Tier-2 is an optional account over tier-1 which has no withdrawal restrictions like tier-1.For investment allocation in tier -2, you can choose your investments to be in active choice mode or auto choice mode to be split across across Equity, Corporate bonds and Government bonds. (NPS Booklet)

Articles from the web on tax treatment at the time of withdrawal of funds from Tier-2 account.

Tax Treatment of Tier II Account is similar to that of Debt Mutual Fund: On taxation front, as per the views from various CAs and tax consultants, the tax treatment on proceeds from Tier II NPS account would be similar to debt mutual funds. Indexation benefits can be availed of. (source)

Valueresearch article says, the taxation is the same as any other fixed income or debt alternative.

Tax angle from Mint A crucial difference between the two accounts is the tax treatment. Says Rani S. Nair, executive director, PFRDA: “Since Tier II does not have any lock-in period, it does not qualify for a tax deduction under section 80C.” However, right now, the pension regulator is divided on the tax treatment of the amount withdrawn. Says Nair: “We are yet to hear from the tax department on the tax implications.” Going by the product structure, withdrawals will attract capital gains tax. Withdrawals before one year will attract short-term capital gains that is taxed at the marginal rate (the highest tax rate on your income slab). For withdrawals after one year, you will have to pay long-term capital gains—10% for debt funds and nil for equity funds.

Some articles talk about

Treatment of the whole amount as "debt"- while others talk about

Separate tax treatment for withdrawal from equity and debt portion of tier-2 account. ( Tier 2 withdrawal request online on CRA NSDL provides the option of lump sum or scheme wise withdrawal- so you can actually withdraw from Equity or Corporate or Government units specifically)

After the first two wonderful books from the author in this series, this third book also doesn't disappoint. The story pertaining to "Aranya Kanda" is well presented by the author.

The story in this book starts from Dankaranya forest and ends with Rama searching for a suitable friend to find his "inseparable" consort Sita.

I got a lot of information about various maharishis and history of places like Dandakaranya from this book. I dont remember to have read such details in other versions of Ramayana previously..

While presenting the story line in a lucid manner, the author has not only come out with lessons for life as usual but also brings out the concepts of Srivaishnavism/ Vishishtadvaita philosophy in a crystal clear way.

Examples:-

The author highlights very clearly

1. Rama doesn't kill any one in Sita's presence because she is passion personified . ( This brings out the Karunya of "Sri").

2. Lakshmana is offered the freedom to choose a place of residence at panchavati ( independence) by Rama . Lakshmana renounces any kind of independence and expresses that he is an eternal servant of Rama ( Seshatva) and he does things only as per his masters' wish.

The story, lessons for life and philosophy are presented so lucidly and simply- which makes this book a must read for all categories of readers.

Jatayu not only occupies the cover page of the book but also ends up occupying your heart after you read the book.

Also, the chapter titled "Lakshmana's diary" - deviates from the standard way of story telling of the book and puts out the proceedings through Lakshmana's heart- ( Good attempt by the author..Please read the book to know more:-))

The best learning for me from the book - " Every body has a golden deer in life " :-). so, BEWARE OF THE GOLDEN DEER!

Disclosure:- After reading the previous books , I have become an ardent fan of the author. I was super excited to receive a signed copy of book from the author.!.